Five Dates
by smilelaughread
Summary: Five important dates in Petunia's relationship with Vernon Dursley. Written for round four of the Five Drabbles Competition.
1. Balloon

_Balloon - 1/5_ _for the Five Drabbles Competition at HPFC._

* * *

Petunia was a very stubborn child. She had "strong" opinions and visions of the way events should run, at least according to her mother.

Should happenings unfold her way, she rewarded everyone with happy smiles and a warm personality. On the other hand, if she was disobeyed - her parents did so annoyingly often, favouring Lily, it always seemed - then the tantrums began. Her favourite move was an imitation of her mother - a pursing of the lips, lengthening of the body, and slow reddening of cheeks with pent-up frustration.

Of course, shouting and crying still did the trick in a pinch.

None of that on such a special day.

She hoped for a good afternoon. So far, so good.

All the balloons decorating their small living room were pink, as per her instructions. Streamers - also pink - were strung around the room, and the small table in the centre was adorned with pink petunias.

Some friends of the family had been invited for her sixth birthday, and Petunia was eager to show off her decorations. She'd spent so long imagining them that it was a matter of pride to her that she manage to squeeze compliments from every guest.

Vernon Dursley was the first to arrive, just as she'd expected. His parents always arrived early for the get-togethers her parents organized, and though she'd hardly seen him since they both learned to talk, the memory of him was freshest in her mind. She was pleased when his first act in her house was to lift a vase of flowers to his nose. He smiled at the scent.

He looked nice. Ordinary, even.

He smelled of cologne, probably his mother's handiwork, and he held himself with strength. He'd be a proper man.

Even after the guests came, her eyes followed his every movement. Every one of his hairs was gelled back, combed carefully into place. Petunia thought that kind of order was just what everyone needed, carefully noting her observations of the quiet - _though hungry_ \- boy that made stilted conversation with her until her other guests arrived.

When he asked politely, she passed him more sandwiches.


	2. Parade

_Parade - 2/5_ _for the Five Drabbles Competition at HPFC._

* * *

"Vernon Dursley - you remember him, dear, don't you? - is going to be marching the parade beside his father. Isn't that wonderful? His mother must be so proud."

All Petunia wanted was for her mother to look at her with love and pride. Just once.

She pushed her pathetic thoughts from her mind, as usual.

They simply _had_ to go see him, Petunia's mother insisted. They had to support the Dursleys, though the families had hardly spoken in a year. The Evans family had been busy "dealing with family business". That was, acknowledging Lily's... _magic._

There was a part of Petunia that was truly interested in him. He'd grown out of his childhood stubbiness to take after his father - a large but wiry man. There was something attractive about him. She suspected it was less his appearance and more his personality that made him desirable, since none of her friends seemed to agree with her.

It was a marching band that passed before Vernon's mother started speaking in excited tones, telling them that her husband and son were coming soon. As the brass faded into the distance, leaving behind ringing ears, the march continued. Petunia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, bored.

And then she locked eyes with someone she recognized.

Vernon, dressed in clothing similar to his father's, was looking straight at her. God knew how he'd found her in the crowd, but he'd managed.

Singled out, Petunia felt her cheeks heat. The attention sent her stomach into nervous knots, and she knew that what he could give her was exactly what she needed. There was something so incredibly _normal_ about what he was doing - nothing crazy like Lily and her _friends_ at that blasted school. Petunia put the thought from her mind.

Vernon was just so ordinary. His was a delicious reality. Petunia toyed with the possibility in her head, very careful.

He was well-mannered, disciplined, and looked at her with an intensity that she'd never received from anyone else.

She made the decision right then, as he passed before her eyes, standing in rows of people that were dressed exactly as he was, moving with the same practiced steps: he would be hers.


	3. Treasure

_Treasure - 3/5_ _for the Five Drabbles Competition at HPFC._

* * *

Over the years, she'd grown and thinned out where he'd stopped and gained weight, but the way he looked at her had never changed.

"There's something I want to tell you, Petunia," Vernon leaned across the table, elbows holding him in place. His hands, which held hers, were soft and warm, if a little damp.

She felt breathless. "What is it?"

What he might say would determine their relationship's longevity and everything that she had been so carefully planning. There had been sleepless nights leading up to the conversation she'd initiated earlier, but the ending - which she'd imagined a million ways - was finally in Vernon's hands.

"No matter _what_ your sister is," he began, expression darkening with the lowering of his eyebrows and the twitch of a muscle that tugged his lips into a momentary frown, "I love you. I will treasure you, Petunia. We're good together."

Something was hurting inside of her, like a knife shoved into the spot just between two ribs. She was caught by surprise, unable to even gasp. Relief, cold as ice, coursed through her.

A smile stretched across her features, authentic and therefore not often used.

"I love you, too," she whispered. "Vernon, thank you."

He shook his head, lifting her hand to his lips to place a kiss there. Petunia felt that she was no longer on earth, flying high in the sky with elation. The biggest problem in her life had just solved itself, and the weight that had clung to her mind since the beginning disappeared. She could trust Vernon, for he was just as she was.

Her perseverance had paid off. Her future was set. She had succeeded.

The cheap restaurant food she continued eating had never tasted quite so good.


	4. Sugar

_Sugar (Maroon 5) - 4/5_ _for the Five Drabbles Competition at HPFC._

* * *

Their big day hadn't been without mishaps. Vernon had been bursting in a too-small suit, she'd fumbled with a ring, but it had been contained in a warm cocoon of protection that Petunia knew was borne of her sheer determination that it be the best day of her life.

Lily hadn't attended. Petunia counted that fact as a positive rather than a negative.

Thinking of her family left a bitter taste on her tongue, one that was happily chased away by the sweetness of the slice of cake that she and Vernon shared in front of cheerful relatives. Soft music accompanied them.

Her dress was long, soft, and hadn't been too expensive. She felt better than she ever had in her life. Thankfully, Vernon was sweet all evening long, never complaining when she checked her hair and makeup time and time again.

Being with him erased everything from her mind, because their entire lives were suddenly full of potential. Options that she could happily mull over for years and years were suddenly about to get far closer.

With a new family - her _own_ \- Petunia was going to be completely in control. She would raise any child of hers to be perfectly normal, and Vernon's potential to be intimidating could only help.

She had fallen in deep and wanted everything but to find her way out. All the jagged edges, everything that she'd built up inside her for two decades and some odd years - it was all soothed by her husband's calm smiles and comfortingly large presence.

Vernon even let her surreptitiously lead their dancing.

As far as she was concerned, their wedding day was perfect, straight from any book of fairytales.


	5. Violet

_Violet - 5/5_ _for the Five Drabbles Competition at HPFC. (I hit 393 words.)_

* * *

They'd been trying for some time. Nothing had been happening. Petunia had started to wonder if it was her fault. Vernon certainly insisted on intimacy often enough.

Then, by some miracle, it happened.

Vernon was ecstatic, calling all his relatives to tell them the good news.

Petunia just sat, very nervous, on the edge of a chair. She stared straight at the ground, wrapping her mind around the fact that she was going to be bringing life into the world. She rested one hand on her stomach, the sensation so foreign that it no longer felt like her hand.

The doorbell sounded and Petunia automatically rose to answer it, catching Vernon's eye. He was still talking, but he shot her an unusual smile.

The delivery man on the other side of their heavy door looked a little frazzled, holding a big bouquet of purple and pink flowers - some petunias, she noticed with a twinge of glee.

"Are you... Petunia Dursley?"

She nodded. Suddenly, a clipboard was thrust under her nose and she was being forced to sign the paper. He left just as abruptly, leaving her standing in the doorway with a bundle that was wrapped in plastic held tightly in her hand.

A heavy arm rested on her shoulders. Vernon whispered, "I got them for you - we needed to celebrate."

Petunia shrugged away from Vernon, though her heart was pumping happy warmth through her. She fumbled with a vase before carefully arranging the flowers inside of it.

"My mum reckons it's going to be a boy. What do you think? What shall we name him?"

"Perhaps we could name him after your father?" she suggested, though there was a niggling in her mind. "Though if the baby is female, I should like to name her after a flower."

"Family tradition, isn't it?" He spoke carefully, hiding some of his previous exuberance.

She swallowed. "Dahlia, then _Lily_ and Petunia, and now..." her gaze fell upon the bouquet of purple flowers again, blushing at Vernon's uncharacteristically sweet gesture. She smiled. "Violet."

He took two steps forward, pulling her close to him in a way that might normally cause her to push away. She didn't, allowing herself to relax.

"I think it's perfect," Vernon said, and Petunia thanked the heavens for the man she'd chosen.


End file.
